The Fence
This post is for my 'records' on here and so I'm going to a bit clinical in talking about the construction of my fence. If you're not my Facebook friend then you know nothing about it, so maybe you'll think it interesting in the far reaches of possibility.
At the beginning of this year I set about to design, apply to the HOA, and build myself a new fence in my back/side yard. The land plot of my end unit townhouse extends 11 feet to the side, which when this place was built 25 years ago was not fenced in. In the spirit of more hang out space, room for the dog, and just plain improving the value of our house we needed to expand the back yard space.
I have a surveyor's plat of my property given to me at settlement, so knew the exact boundaries of my property, and I made my own larger scale drawing of the plat. (thanks architecture drafting class!) I designed the new and improved fence and sent off the application to the Architectural Review Committee for our HOA. Two months and many phone calls later I got my approval.
By the time it was approved I had worked out estimates on materials, tools, and labor, so I was ready to go within a week of receiving their letter. The lumber and concrete came to about $1,200. I also needed to procure 2x4 joist hangers, 2" and 3" coated screws, 2" galvanized nails for my nail gun, gravel, construction adhesive, and post toppers. (I haven't added up the cost of those materials) Tools I had to buy were a reciprocating saw, a 7amp corded drill, post hole digger (manual), tool belt, new saw blade, drill bits, and two large grip clamps. I don't consider tools an expense because they have long term value beyond the present project. I avoid buying tools that are project or purpose specific since they are generally a waste of money.
I measured and planned out the fence placement, marked the posts and digging locations. Miss Utility was very efficient and I had no issues with buried lines of any kind.
The lumber and the majority of the concrete came from 84 Lumber in Manassas. 14 4x4 posts, 28 2x4, 12 1x4, and 260 1x6. And 14 80lb bags of concrete mix. My uncle helped me pick it up, he in his pickup truck and me borrowing my parents' minivan. We loaded both vehicles to well over capacity and drove home 50mph on rt66. 14 80lb bags of concrete weighs 1,120lbs, and we still had about 2,000lbs in lumber. It was nerve racking, but also fun. We unloaded it all to the side of the house. That was the last assistance I received on this project.
That evening I began to dig holes. I started with the corners since they determine the exact locations of all the posts in between. The dirt in the side yard proved to be quite difficult to get through and I wore myself out with every hole. Each hole was about 2.5 feet deep. Gravel filled in the bottom to bring each hole to an even 2 feet deep. The gravel is to ensure drainage of water, to mitigate wood rot. After filling my corner post holes with the concrete I immediately knew I would need more than I purchased. Five bags for three holes...shit. I apparently dug my holes too large because ultimately I had to get an extra 900lbs (TWO trips on two different days) of concrete to finish the job. I came to the conclusion that mixing concrete by hand was only bested in difficulty by digging the holes I put it in.
I finally got to bust out the tool belt! With the posts complete, I now had to fasten the joist hangers to all the locations where 2x4s would join the posts. 48 joist hangers with four 2" screws a piece. It took a while, and three charges on my cordless drill. (more on that later) Then came the sawing! So, measuring every span individually I cut all the 2x4s to fit in the joist hangers. These random posts in the ground finally started to look like a fence. Being a perfectionist AND a visual artist I cannot abide my fence having those awkward angles from elevation changes. So I took a lot of time to make sure the lines were as smooth/straight as I could get. I had to make the fence higher than the prescribed 5' at some points, but that happens on almost every fence in the neighborhood. (I checked.) Every joint hanger has a hole on each side to attach its load. I put a 3" screw into each of these holes, and I think these rails will never go anywhere, unless they burn down. Totaling 288 screws.
Now for my first piece of real carpentry; the gate. I made a representative drawing of what I wanted the gate to look like, and then measured the actual space and came up with dimensions. I cut the 2x4s to size and then thought, "How the hell do I join these things?" I decided on drilling holes part way into the top rail to fasten the style to underneath. More 3" screws. My drill went through BOTH batteries drilling the holes and I was dead in the water while they took forever to charge. I had to run out to get a corded drill just to finish the job. Armed with 7amps and 2400rpms I crushed the gate frame. It came out great! I hung it with the hardware from the old gate. (relatively new since I put it on myself about a year ago. The gate was not attached when we bought the house) The gate is located on the only part of the fence with a steep angle. The frame is plumb to the the fence posts, but I had to conform boards on the gate to this angle. I've never dropped a circular saw into a cut before. I was nervous since my hands were RIGHT THERE, but I got it done and it's rather snappy looking.
My best compliment of the project: Someone thought I'd been hired to build the fence :)
All that's left is to fasten the slats onto the rails. I may get help on this if I feel like I need it. I'd also be nice to have someone else to talk to while I work. No more screws though. I get to put my framing gun to use for the first time. The mount of sawing I am not looking forward to. Each board is 6' long, but the fence is less than that all the way around. Basically, every board gets attached and then I have to run around the whole fence with the circular saw to chop it all to size. Ew. I'm glad I bought earplugs!
So that's the litany of the fence. I just wanted to get all that out so I could read about in 10 years or something.
_Charles
At the beginning of this year I set about to design, apply to the HOA, and build myself a new fence in my back/side yard. The land plot of my end unit townhouse extends 11 feet to the side, which when this place was built 25 years ago was not fenced in. In the spirit of more hang out space, room for the dog, and just plain improving the value of our house we needed to expand the back yard space.
I have a surveyor's plat of my property given to me at settlement, so knew the exact boundaries of my property, and I made my own larger scale drawing of the plat. (thanks architecture drafting class!) I designed the new and improved fence and sent off the application to the Architectural Review Committee for our HOA. Two months and many phone calls later I got my approval.
By the time it was approved I had worked out estimates on materials, tools, and labor, so I was ready to go within a week of receiving their letter. The lumber and concrete came to about $1,200. I also needed to procure 2x4 joist hangers, 2" and 3" coated screws, 2" galvanized nails for my nail gun, gravel, construction adhesive, and post toppers. (I haven't added up the cost of those materials) Tools I had to buy were a reciprocating saw, a 7amp corded drill, post hole digger (manual), tool belt, new saw blade, drill bits, and two large grip clamps. I don't consider tools an expense because they have long term value beyond the present project. I avoid buying tools that are project or purpose specific since they are generally a waste of money.
I measured and planned out the fence placement, marked the posts and digging locations. Miss Utility was very efficient and I had no issues with buried lines of any kind.
The lumber and the majority of the concrete came from 84 Lumber in Manassas. 14 4x4 posts, 28 2x4, 12 1x4, and 260 1x6. And 14 80lb bags of concrete mix. My uncle helped me pick it up, he in his pickup truck and me borrowing my parents' minivan. We loaded both vehicles to well over capacity and drove home 50mph on rt66. 14 80lb bags of concrete weighs 1,120lbs, and we still had about 2,000lbs in lumber. It was nerve racking, but also fun. We unloaded it all to the side of the house. That was the last assistance I received on this project.
That evening I began to dig holes. I started with the corners since they determine the exact locations of all the posts in between. The dirt in the side yard proved to be quite difficult to get through and I wore myself out with every hole. Each hole was about 2.5 feet deep. Gravel filled in the bottom to bring each hole to an even 2 feet deep. The gravel is to ensure drainage of water, to mitigate wood rot. After filling my corner post holes with the concrete I immediately knew I would need more than I purchased. Five bags for three holes...shit. I apparently dug my holes too large because ultimately I had to get an extra 900lbs (TWO trips on two different days) of concrete to finish the job. I came to the conclusion that mixing concrete by hand was only bested in difficulty by digging the holes I put it in.
I finally got to bust out the tool belt! With the posts complete, I now had to fasten the joist hangers to all the locations where 2x4s would join the posts. 48 joist hangers with four 2" screws a piece. It took a while, and three charges on my cordless drill. (more on that later) Then came the sawing! So, measuring every span individually I cut all the 2x4s to fit in the joist hangers. These random posts in the ground finally started to look like a fence. Being a perfectionist AND a visual artist I cannot abide my fence having those awkward angles from elevation changes. So I took a lot of time to make sure the lines were as smooth/straight as I could get. I had to make the fence higher than the prescribed 5' at some points, but that happens on almost every fence in the neighborhood. (I checked.) Every joint hanger has a hole on each side to attach its load. I put a 3" screw into each of these holes, and I think these rails will never go anywhere, unless they burn down. Totaling 288 screws.
Now for my first piece of real carpentry; the gate. I made a representative drawing of what I wanted the gate to look like, and then measured the actual space and came up with dimensions. I cut the 2x4s to size and then thought, "How the hell do I join these things?" I decided on drilling holes part way into the top rail to fasten the style to underneath. More 3" screws. My drill went through BOTH batteries drilling the holes and I was dead in the water while they took forever to charge. I had to run out to get a corded drill just to finish the job. Armed with 7amps and 2400rpms I crushed the gate frame. It came out great! I hung it with the hardware from the old gate. (relatively new since I put it on myself about a year ago. The gate was not attached when we bought the house) The gate is located on the only part of the fence with a steep angle. The frame is plumb to the the fence posts, but I had to conform boards on the gate to this angle. I've never dropped a circular saw into a cut before. I was nervous since my hands were RIGHT THERE, but I got it done and it's rather snappy looking.
My best compliment of the project: Someone thought I'd been hired to build the fence :)
All that's left is to fasten the slats onto the rails. I may get help on this if I feel like I need it. I'd also be nice to have someone else to talk to while I work. No more screws though. I get to put my framing gun to use for the first time. The mount of sawing I am not looking forward to. Each board is 6' long, but the fence is less than that all the way around. Basically, every board gets attached and then I have to run around the whole fence with the circular saw to chop it all to size. Ew. I'm glad I bought earplugs!
So that's the litany of the fence. I just wanted to get all that out so I could read about in 10 years or something.
_Charles